‘We knew there could be problems with Real and Ronaldo. We did everything, but then the Chinese owners blocked the deal because it was not sustainable. With the current owners CR7 would have been a Milan player.’

American hedge fund Elliott Management took over AC Milan in July, with Mirabelli sacked shortly afterwards.

He also revealed the club were in talks to appoint Antonio Conte after sacking Vincenzo Montella in November 2017.

Mirabelli also revealed the club were in talks to appoint Antonio Conte in November 2017

Conte was still at Chelsea and the talks went nowhere, and the former sporting director said he was pleased Milan chose to appoint Gennaro Gattuso instead.

Mirabelli said: ‘I was proud to have made this choice [appointing Gattuso] because of his professionalism, his seriousness and the love he and his staff put into their work.

‘The Chinese owners did not agree because they thought from the outside it would look like a backward step, but I explained that for me Rino was the coach of the future. He has worked in Greece, Serie C and B and for me this is a positive.

‘We listened to [Conte], we talked directly. It was a chat that didn’t result in anything.’

Milan are currently fifth in Serie A as they attempt to return to the Champions League for the first time since 2014.

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